


The Tiny Moms' Big Fight

by god_awful_mormon



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 11:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5867707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/god_awful_mormon/pseuds/god_awful_mormon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby and Sapphire get into an argument, and Steven is utterly convinced that it's up to him to set things right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tiny Moms' Big Fight

**Author's Note:**

> Please Note: this is an _old_ work! I originally posted this [on my tumblr](http://god-awful-mormon.tumblr.com/post/120981351992/the-tiny-moms-big-fight) in June of 2015. By now it is a little outdated, especially after Keystone Motel, but it got a great reception at the time and I still think it's worth reading.

“Worw, guys, thish wash sho—”

“Steven, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Pearl scolded.

Steven swallowed his mouthful of cake. “This was so great!” He cast a glance around them. The sand was littered with confetti and pieces of piñata. Balloons, just now beginning to wilt, were tied to various rocks near the cliff face. The volleyball net was only slightly singed. “Best birthday ever!”

“Oh, well,” said Pearl, smiling and blushing even as a tone of boastfulness crept into her voice, “we did our best.”

The guests were all gone now, all except Connie, who had stayed to help Steven finish off the cake.

Steven reached for another slice, but Pearl swatted his hand away. “Oh, no you don’t, you have had too much cake in one sitting. Take a break or you’ll be sick.”

“Here,” Amethyst offered, “I’ll get rid of the temptation.” She grabbed the platter and tilted the rest of the cake into her mouth.

“Amethyst!” Pearl snapped, “That was Steven’s cake!”

“Sorry.” Amethyst burped.

“It’s okay,” said Steven, “I don’t mind. This birthday is still everything I could have possibly wanted.” He paused and thought. “Well… except for one thing.”

“What one thing, Steven?” Connie prompted helpfully.

“Well… it’s not a big deal… but… Garnet, when you said a few months ago that you were waiting for my birthday to introduce me to Sapphire and Ruby, I said you should still do it and I’d just act surprised. But you never did.” He looked up at Garnet with big, sad eyes. “I’ve been practicing my surprised face. It would be a shame not to put it to good use.”

Garnet chuckled. “I didn’t realize you were serious.”

“I was _very_ serious. I want to see you unfused. I’ll be like –” He put a hand on either side of his face and gasped loudly.

“I can’t do my plan _now_ ,” said Garnet. “My plan was tragically ruined aboard Peridot’s ship.” She looked out mournfully over the ocean. “It was such a great plan.”

“Fine, don’t do your plan. You still have a reason to unfuse.” Steven pointed at his friend. “Connie hasn’t seen them! I’ve told her how small and tiny and adorable they are but words can’t describe how small… so small and precious…”

“I need to see them with my own eyes!” Connie cried, eyes shining.

Steven nodded vigorously. “Her life won’t be complete until she does.”

“I hear they’re so cute,” said Connie.

“So, so cute,” Steven confirmed.

Garnet smirked and flushed slightly. “Alright, fine, but only because it’s your birthday.”

Steven and Connie were literally at the edge of their seats, leaning forward slightly, eyes wide.

Garnet shimmered and morphed into a glowing patch of light. In another second, two smaller gems toppled onto the sand.

Connie leapt to her feet. “AAAAAAAAH! They _are_ small! They’re smaller than me, just like you said! This is so cute and also extremely surreal!”

“Excuse you,” said Ruby, hands on her hips, “don’t call us cute! We are ultra-powerful gem warriors who are thousands of years old.”

“You _are_ cute though,” Sapphire said.

Ruby blushed. “Stop it!”

“Wow,” Connie gushed, “I have so many questions! What’s it like to be fused all the time? I feel like it would be really weird.”

“You get used to it,” said Sapphire. “At this point, it actually feels pretty weird to just be me.” She looked down at herself and spun in a circle, laughing as her skirt swirled around her.

Ruby looked up at Pearl. “Dang, Pearl, you are a lot taller than me. I don’t like it.” She folded her arms across her chest. “When are we forming Garnet again?”

“Patience,” Sapphire chided. “You’re always in such a hurry. Take things as they are. Enjoy this moment. After all, there are some downsides to being fused.”

Ruby held Sapphire’s face in her hands. “The only downside to being fused is I can’t see how beautiful you are.”

Amethyst made loud gagging noises and mimicked vomiting.

“Fight me!” yelled Ruby, spinning to face her.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. “Oh no, something’s coming," Sapphire muttered. She paused for moment, then dove quickly to the side.

At that very moment a long, wormlike monster burst out of the sand, sending rocks from below flying across the beach. A rock nearly three feet across flew through the spot where Sapphire had just been standing and struck Ruby instead.

“Ow!” Ruby yelled, clutching her cheek, which had taken the brunt of the blow. “Rude!”

Sapphire cringed. “Oops.”

“’Oops’?? You knew this would happen!”

The massive creature shook itself, sending another rock hurtling at Ruby, but this time she was prepared and punched it to divert its course. It ricocheted toward Sapphire, who leapt out of the way just in time.

“You did that on purpose!” she cried.

“You let a rock hit me in the face!”

“What did you expect me to do, stay put and let it hit me instead?”

“You could have pulled me aside with you! Or at least shouted ‘duck’!!”

Their faces were inches apart now and heavy with burning glares. “Just because I can see the future,” Sapphire shouted, “doesn’t mean I can protect everyone all the time! I’m only one person!”

The monster opened its slimy maw, which looked large enough to swallow a semi-truck whole, and roared. The ground quaked. At Steven’s recommendation, Connie cowered under the table.

Amethyst lashed her whip at it, the end wrapping around its body. She tried to pull it to the ground, but it pulled harder, sending Amethyst flying into the cliff. Pearl lunged with her spear, but the puncture only served to make the beast angrier.

“I’m not asking you to protect everyone!” Ruby yelled. “Just _me_!”

“Do you _realize_ how _selfish_ that sounds?” Sapphire hissed.

“Uh guys?” Steven interposed, “This was fun, but we could really use Garnet’s help right now.”

His suggestion was forcefully ignored. “ _I’m_ selfish?” Ruby cried. “Oh, that’s rich!”

“Why are you making such a big deal out of a little rock?” said Sapphire.

“Little?? It was as big as I am!”

“Exactly. _Little_.”

Ruby fumed. “You’re only an inch taller than me!”

Amethyst picked herself up and charged back at the creature. Forgoing weapons, she leapt onto it in an attempt to wrangle it by hand. It bucked violently, and she barely managed to hold on. “I’ve gotta agree with Steven on this one,” she yelled frantically, “we really need Garnet to beat this thing! Fuse now!”

“Not until Sapphire apologizes,” said Ruby.

“I have nothing to apologize for!” Sapphire snapped.

“Augh,” Amethyst groaned, “act your age, not your size! This is an emergency!” the monster gave a violent shake, finally managing to fling her into the ocean.

The monster dove down at Steven with its mouth gaping open. He summoned a bubble just in time to avoid being eaten.

Thwarted, it lunged at Pearl. She jumped out of the way. It plunged at her again, and once again she evaded it. After a few repetitions of this pattern, she changed tactics. She stood still and drew her spear. The monster dove at her. Pearl looked away, wincing, and lifted her spear above her head, its blade pointing into the worm creature’s gullet. Its mouth closed around her. A second later, it disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a jagged hole in the beach where it had been protruding and a large blue gem lying in the sand.

“Come on out. It’s safe.” Steven helped Connie out from under the table.

Amethyst emerged from the surf in time to see Pearl bubbling the gem. “Hey, what do you know, we beat it! I guess we didn’t need Garnet after all.”

Pearl wiped her brow with the back of her hand and glanced judgmentally at Ruby and Sapphire, who were standing with their backs to each other and their arms crossed. “Yes, but it would have been a lot easier with her. Thanks for the help, by the way,” she added sarcastically.

“Yeah, thanks a lot, Ruby,” said Sapphire over her shoulder. “Your stubbornness almost cost them their lives.”

“Wha—bu—” Ruby sputtered, “No it didn’t!!” The tiny gems whirled back around to face each other.

Connie, cringing, occupied herself with her phone. _That awkward moment when ur at ur friend’s house and their parents start fighting in front of you ://_ she tweeted.

Steven frowned. “Hey, uh, Sapphire? Ruby? Having you guys around isn’t fun anymore. I kind of want Garnet back.”

“Too bad.” Sapphire shoved Ruby, lightly but with menace. “Garnet is dead.”

“Nooo!” Steven cried. Tears formed in his eyes

Amethyst clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, little man. I'm sure this will blow over in a few minutes."

_Three days later._

“And another thing!” Sapphire changed her mind about storming away and whirled back around, pointing an accusing finger at her partner. “Your hair is stupid!”

Ruby stammered angrily in response. “Yeah well you – your – ugh!”

Sapphire changed her mind back again and stomped over to the temple gate, holding up her right hand. A glowing blue gash appeared across the door.

Sapphire made a rude hand gesture as she crossed the threshold into her room, and Pearl rushed to cover Steven’s and Connie’s eyes with her hands, grumbling her discontent.

“Yeah, well,” Ruby burst out, “at least I --!” But Sapphire’s door had already closed behind her. “Dang it!”

Muttering under her breath, Ruby shuffled over to the temple gate and entered her own room.

“They are being _so_ childish,” said Amethyst.

“And when Amethyst calls you childish,” Pearl added snidely, “you know you have a problem.”

“I’d defend myself, but it’s true.”

Steven stood up. “That’s it, I’m not standing for this any longer. It’s time to intervene.”

“I don’t know, Steven,” said Connie, “didn’t we already learn our lesson about interfering in other people’s love lives a couple of months ago during the Jamie fiasco?”

“Yes, exactly, Connie. That valuable lesson was taught to us by Garnet. And if we don’t interfere in other people’s love lives today, she may never teach us another valuable lesson again.”

Connie took a moment to chew through that thought. “…yeah, okay that makes a lot of sense.”

“So how are we gonna do this, Steven?” asked Amethyst. “Do you have a plan?”

“Oh,” Steven smiled. “I have a few ideas.”

_Plan A_

“‘Dear Ruby,’” Connie read from the piece of paper in her hand. “‘I am sorry about what I did. I was wrong. Please take me back. Your hair isn’t stupid, it’s lovely. Love, Sapphire.’”

“That’s pretty good,” said Steven.

“What did you write for Ruby’s letter?” Connie asked.

“‘Sapphire, I am very sorry for yelling at you. You are my sun, moon and stars. I couldn’t live without you. You have the face of a goddess and the voice of an angel. Please forgive me. Yours truly, Ruby.’”

“Wow, Steven,” said Connie, “that was the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Are you crying?”

“No!” she protested, wiping the corners of her eyes.

“I think these are ready to deliver,” said Amethyst. She ran over to the temple gate and pounded her fist against it. “Yo, Sapphire, get out here!” she yelled.

A blue gash appeared and Sapphire came out of her room, looking a bit annoyed. “What?”

Steven stepped forward. “Ruby asked us to give this to you,” he lied, holding out his paper.

Sapphire took the letter. “Why didn’t she give it to me herself?”

“Uh… I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her. No, wait! Don’t ask her!”

Sapphire squinted at him suspiciously and he tried to put on his most innocent grin.

A red gash appeared across the temple gate and Ruby stormed out into the house. “What’s all the racket out here?” she demanded.

Sapphire gestured at the note in her hand. “Steven was just giving me this letter that you wrote.”

“I’n’t write that,” said Ruby.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow at Steven. “Is that so?”

Steven sweated. “Uh… okay, fine! I wrote it! But you should read it anyway. It’s really beautiful. Connie cried a little.”

“No I didn’t!” Connie argued hotly.

Sapphire shook her head. “I really thought you were better than this, Steven.” She dropped the letter and turned to go.

“Wait!” Steven cried, falling to his knees and picking the paper up off of the floor. “At least read the letter!”

Sapphire went back into her room, and Ruby followed suit.

Steven’s eyes moistened. “My beautiful words… gone to waste…”

“It’s okay, Steven,” said Connie, patting his shoulder. “Nobody succeeds on the first attempt. We just have to keep trying.”

Steven brightened. “Yeah! And I have loads more ideas!”

_Plan B_

“Plan B is to trap them in an enclosed space together until they work out their problems,” Steven announced.

“Steven, that’s a recipe for disaster,” Amethyst chuckled. “I love it.”

“It is rather vague, though,” Pearl pointed out. “What sort of enclosed space and how do we get them there?”

Steven’s face fell. “I don’t know!!”

“Don’t panic, buddy,” said Amethyst, “we’ll help you think of something.”

They stood in thoughtful silence for a minute.

“Ooh!” Connie exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “I’ve got it!” She whispered in Steven’s ear.

Stars appeared in his eyes. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

They ran to the temple gate. “Sapphire! Ruby! Come out!” Steven called.

“We need to talk to you,” Connie added.

The small gems warily emerged.

“What did you call us out here for?” asked Ruby, refusing to look at Sapphire.

“Are you going to apologize for the fake letter?” asked Sapphire, refusing to look at Ruby.

“Yes,” said Steven. “I just wanted to say that I shouldn’t have tried to interfere with your lives or manipulate you guys and it was very wrong of – NOW, CONNIE!”

Connie gave a violent shove to Ruby, who, unprepared for the impact, stumbled and fell into Sapphire.

“Hey!” Ruby cried. “What’s the big idea?”

Steven created a bubble shield around the pair.

“HEY!” Ruby cried again, even more furious. She beat against the side of the bubble with her tiny fists, but it held easily.

“Steven,” Sapphire said sternly. “Remove this bubble this instant.”

“I’ll remove the bubble,” Steven said smugly, “as soon as you two are resolve your conflict like adults.”

Ruby and Sapphire stared each other down for a few tense seconds. Ruby broke the silence by throwing a punch. Sapphire ducked and kicked Ruby in the stomach, sending her flying into the side of the bubble. Ruby picked herself up and rushed at her partner.

With a frantic clap of his hands, Steven got rid of the bubble. “Stop!” he cried. “Stop fighting!” He ran between the battling gems, pushing them away from each other.

With a seething look at Ruby, Sapphire stormed outside. Ruby retreated into the temple.

“Amethyst was right,” said Steven. “That _was_ a recipe for disaster. But don’t worry, my next plan will be much safer.”

_Plan C_

“Plan C: _The Parent Trap_. Amethyst, turn into me.”

“Steven, that plan has so many flaws I don’t know where to start,” Pearl protested.

“Oh, come on, Pearl,” said Amethyst, “it’s worth a try.”

“What do you even hope to accomplish by this?” Pearl folded her arms. “This methods used in the movie _The Parent Trap_ are simply not applicable to our situation.”

A red gash appeared on the temple gate. 

“Ruby’s coming!” Steven cried. “Quick, Amethyst!”

Amethyst morphed into an exact copy of him.

“Woah,” Connie muttered, “that’s really weird.”

Ruby stepped out of her room, quickly glanced around, and, satisfied that Sapphire was not present, walked out into Steven’s room. “Hey, guys,” she monotoned, nodding at the others.

“Hi, Ruby,” said Steven. “It’s me, Amethyst.” He winked at the real Amethyst. “I just turned into Steven because we were playing Steven tag.”

“That’s right,” Amethyst confirmed. “And I’m Steven.”

“I know that’s you, Amethyst,” Ruby grumbled, rolling her eyes. “And Steven, I know you’re not Amethyst.”

“What are you talking about?” Amethyst said. “I’m Steven, and that’s Amethyst.”

“You’re purple,” Ruby deadpanned, and, rolling her eyes again, she walked out the front door.

With a dejected sigh, Amethyst morphed back into her normal form.

“It’s okay guys!” said Steven, still radiating hope. “I have tons more ideas!”

_Plan D_

“Pearl, you were right earlier,” said Steven.

“As usual,” Pearl said smugly.

“Not only was that plan made impossible by Amethyst’s color scheme, it just didn’t make logical sense to use that part of the movie in this particular situation.”

“Exactly,” Pearl agreed.

“ _However..._ ”

“Uh oh.”

“We _can_ use a different part of the movie.”

“Oh, dear,” Pearl sighed, pressing her fingers against her temples.

“In the movie _The Parent Trap,_ ” Steven continued, stars appearing in his eyes, “the twins recreate their parents’ first date.”

“…thereby rekindling the flame of their love!” said Connie, eyes also shining, but not in star shapes because that’s Steven’s thing.

“Exactly!” Steven confirmed. “We just need to surprise Ruby and Sapphire with a recreation of their first date and then—”

“Uh, Steven,” Amethyst interrupted, “I’m pretty sure they’ve never been on a date.”

“What??” Steven cried. “Never?”

“Well, Steven,” Pearl explained, “your human ritual of ‘going on a date’ has only existed for the past hundred years. Garnet has been fused nearly constantly for much longer than that.”

“Oh. Well, we could still do something similar. When did they first meet?”

“During a deadly war.”

Steven frowned. “Yeeeaaaaaaah, I don’t think we can go through with this plan.”

“Ooh,” said Connie, “I have an idea!”

_Plan E_

“Plan E –” Connie lugged the phone book to the table, where it dropped with a surprisingly loud _thud_. “Professional help!”

“Why are you using a phone book?” asked Steven. “Why not search the internet?”

“Thumbing through a book is more visually interesting,” Connie explained as she turned to the yellow pages and began running her finger down columns of business names, “so it’s easier to write, especially for an inexperienced fanfiction writer who doesn’t like thinking too hard.”

“Oh. That makes a lot of sense.”

“There! That looks promising!” Connie pointed to a page. “Dr. Pamela Carlson, marriage therapist.” She took out her phone and dialed the number listed.

“Hello, Dr. Carlson? … Oh, okay. … Listen, I was hoping to make an appointment. When’s the soonest she’s available? … A cancelation? … This afternoon? That’s perfect! … How much did you say? … Is there any way you could give us a discount or-- … yes, I understand. … Bye.”

Connie hung up. “I forgot that therapists cost money.”

“That’s okay, Connie,” said Steven, “There’s still something we haven’t tried yet.”

_Plan F_

Sapphire walked in the front door, brushing specks sand off of her skirt.

“Hey, Sapphire,” said Steven, “I’m glad you’re here. Come sit with me.” He patted the spot on the couch next to him. “Let’s have a little chat.”

“What is this, an intervention?” Sapphire smirked, but she did as he asked. “What’s up, Steven?”

“Listen, I’ve had to grow up pretty fast in these past few months. What with fending off homeworld gems, gaining control of my powers and becoming a larger part of the Crystal Gems team, learning about our species’ messy past, rescuing you from space jail (you’re welcome by the way)… The only vestige of my naiveté I have left is my childish belief in true love… and now (thanks to you) that too is fading…” He lifted his hand dramatically the way he had learned from Jamie the mailman.

“That’s really sad, Steven,” Sapphire said sympathetically. “You should tell that to Ruby, maybe then she’ll do the right thing and apologize.”

“Or you could apologize…?” Steven suggested hopefully.

“Sorry, Steven, that would imply that I’m in the wrong, but in fact I am the one in the right. You see my dilemma.”

“But—”

She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “That’s really too bad, though, about your naiveté or whatever.” She then stood up and went into her room.

_Plan G_

Pearl, Amethyst, and Connie all looked to Steven expectantly. “So, Steven,” said Connie, “what’s the next plan?”

Steven’s brow furrowed. “Uh…” He massaged his temples. “UH…” He grabbed at the roots of his hair. “I don’t know!” he finally burst out. “I’m out of ideas.” He slumped face-first onto the couch.

Connie gingerly sat down on the couch next to where Steven’s face was buried. “Don’t worry, Steven, you’ll think of something else soon. We’ll help you. We can brainstorm—”

“No,” said Steven into the couch cushion, interrupting uncharacteristically. “Nothing is going to work. There’s nothing we can do. They’ll stay split up forever.” He lifted his face from the couch, and the others saw that his face was wet with tears. “We’ll never see Garnet again!”

Nobody really had a response to that, so there was a moment of silence, complete but not drawn out, like coming to a full stop at an intersection.

“Maybe they’ll work things out by themselves if we give them time,” Pearl suggested.

Amethyst mumbled something affirmative, and there was another full stop.

“Look,” said Connie, pointing at the temple gate. “Sapphire’s coming back.”

Sapphire’s door opened and she walked over to the group, dragging her feet slightly as if she disapproved of her own choice to interact with them. “Don’t get excited,” she said, “I just came to tell you that we have a mission. A corrupted gem is rampaging down the beach about a mile away. I don’t think it’s terribly powerful, but we allow it to reach the city it could cause destruction of property and mass panic.”

Pearl stood up from her delicate perch on the edge of the couch. “We’d better leave immediately. Somebody go find Ruby.”

Sapphire grimaced and crossed her arms across her chest. “Does she have to come?”

Pearl scoffed. “Well, of _course_ she does! We’re not leaving out a member of the team, thereby weakening ourselves, just because you don’t want to work with her!”

“Yeah!” said Steven. “Remember that time Pearl and Amethyst had to be on a team together to get the Heaven Beetle even though they were mad at each other? And – oh!” His eyes lit up and he began dancing from foot to foot in excitement. “I got them to fuse by getting eaten by a giant bird! Guys! I just have to put myself in mortal peril and Sapphire and Ruby will _have_ to fuse to save me!”

“No,” Pearl said firmly. “You are not putting yourself in mortal peril.”

“Aw man,” Steven sighed.

“I’ll go get Ruby,” said Pearl, “and then we’ll leave.”

Connie, fearful of being ordered to stay behind if she asked to come along, casually followed as the team left the house. Ruby and Sapphire kept Pearl and Amethyst between them and did not look at each other except for brief stolen glares at irregular intervals, which was better than before when they had been openly fighting.

Since Steven still hadn’t gotten the hang of the gems’ signature flying leap, they made their way down the sandy expanse on foot, with Sapphire assuring them that they would still reach the monster in time, provided they kept up a brisk jog.

Steven opened his mouth to ask how much further it would be until they were close enough to see it, but he quickly closed it again. The corrupted gem had just appeared around a bend.

Pearl rounded on Sapphire. “You said it wasn’t very powerful!”

Sapphire held up her hands defensively. “I said it wasn’t powerful. I never said it wasn’t huge. Power and size aren’t always correlated. I mean, just look at me.” Ruby snickered and muttered something that might have been “yeah, right;” Sapphire tensed but ignored her.

The creature was indeed huge. It was taller than any building in beach city, including the light house. The water tower might rival it, but it would be a close call. It crawled along the shoreline chaotically, its seven elephant-like feet scrambling against the grassy slopes, sinking into the sand, and splashing through the shallows in equal measure.

“We _cannot_ let that thing reach the city,” Amethyst decided.

“You think?” said Pearl.

They all ran at it, the gems drawing their weapons. Steven and Connie quickly fell behind. By the time the children got there, Ruby, Amethyst, Pearl, and Sapphire already had a good start on defeating it. Sapphire’s prophecy had been correct: it was not as intimidating as it looked.

Pearl stood on its broad back, plunging her spear at its tough skin as it writhed in protest. Amethyst stood on the ground in front of it and swung at it with her whip. Ruby was holding on to its face, trying to take out its eyes, while Sapphire zipped about its legs trying to throw it off balance.

As soon as he was near enough to get a good shot, Steven took a relatively small version of his shield and flung it into the fray. It lodged in the creature’s shoulder. Steven cheered at his success, but his pride was premature. Shocked by the pain of the shield’s impact, the monster give a violent start, rearing back wildly and roaring. Pearl plunged her spear into its hide and held on to avoid being thrown off, but Ruby’s grip had already been precarious and she was flung down onto the beach.

Ruby landed on top of Sapphire, knocking her off her feet. “Watch it!” Sapphire snapped, shoving Ruby off of her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Ruby, waving her hands to emphasize her sarcasm, “I’ll make sure not to fall in your hallowed presence anymore, _your majesty_.”

“Don’t mock me,” Sapphire growled, drawing her weapon.

Ruby did the same. “I shouldn’t have let something as trivial as gravity make me intrude in your personal space,” she jeered.

“Oh no, they’re at it again,” Amethyst grumbled as the small gems began to spar. She flung her whip once again at the monster. This time, it wrapped around two of its legs, winching them together. “Oh, hey, I did something.”

At the same time, Pearl found a weak spot between the creature’s shoulder blades and plunged her spear in deep. That wound combined with losing the use of two legs caused the creature to stumble about wildly as it struggled to maintain balance and consciousness. The placement of its wide feet became even more haphazard than before.

Connie was far enough away that there was minimal imminent risk of being stepped on, but Steven grabbed her by the elbow and led her further away, just in case. Ruby and Sapphire were less cautious, paying more attention to each other than the lumbering beast above them.

Sapphire quickly put up a hand to grab Ruby’s fist before it could strike her face. Ruby swung with her other fist, which was stopped in its tracks as well. They stood for a moment in a silent power struggle, their eyes locked together and exchanging fury. Ruby proved to be the stronger and Sapphire was forced backwards, falling to the ground.

Sapphire sat there for a long moment, frozen in concentration. All at once, so quickly that Ruby had no time to react, she leapt to her feet and ran at her partner, slamming into her so hard that the red gem was sent flying.

Ruby began to pick herself up, boiling with rage, only to see one of the monster’s trunk-like feet slam down right where she had just been standing, and where Sapphire was standing now. There was a little puff of white smoke, which was followed by a larger puff of smoke as Pearl gave her spear a final shove into the beast and fell through suddenly empty air.

“NO!” Ruby screamed, dashing to the place where Sapphire had been. She fell to her knees in the beast’s massive round footprint and searched frantically through the sand. “NO! No, no, no, no!” A spot of reflected light caught the corner of her eye. She lunged at its source, which was, sure enough, the triangular facet of Sapphire’s gem. She turned it over and over in her hand, running her thumbs along its smooth surface. The others had by this time reached the site of the calamity and were gathered around her with bated breath.

“Is it cracked?” Pearl asked.

“No,” Ruby whispered, her voice shaking.

“Then she’ll be fine,” Pearl asserted with relief. She plucked the tiny blue stone from Ruby’s hands to inspect it herself. “There’s no need to cry about it.”

“I’m not crying!” Ruby shouted. Her fists scrubbed across her cheeks like windshield wipers. “You’re crying!” With traitorous timing, another sob slipped out. She pulled up the edge of her shirt to dry her face, a Sisyphean effort as tears continued to leak out of her eyes.

“Let’s get back to the temple,” said Pearl with a softening tone. She reached out a hand to help Ruby to her feet, but Ruby stood on her own and furthermore snatched Sapphire’s gem back from Pearl.

On the walk back home, Ruby gripped Sapphire’s gem tightly with both hands, holding it close to her chest.

“How long does Sapphire usually take to regenerate?” asked Steven.

“Oh, a few hours,” said Pearl.

“So it won’t be too long, then,” Steven said to Ruby.

Ruby said nothing. She had managed to stop crying but her throat was still knotted up and she’d lose what dignity she had salvaged by trying to speak through it.

_Three hours later_

Steven shuffled the deck expertly. “Ruby, do you want to play this round?”

Ruby looked up, shook her head, and looked down again. She had plopped down on the couch and drawn her knees to her chest the moment they’d gotten home, and she had yet to move from that position. She held Sapphire’s gem in her cupped hands and stared at it mournfully.

Steven sighed. “All right, just the four of us then.” He began to deal out the cards.

The group’s attention was drawn away from the card game when Ruby gasped loudly. Sapphire’s gem had begun to glow and levitate. Ruby lowered her legs and sat up straight, her eyes wide.

As soon as Sapphire touched the floor Ruby ran to her and hugged her. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry,” Ruby cried. Tears started streaming down her face again.

“Chill,” said Sapphire, returning the hug. Then she added with a sigh, “I’m sorry too.”

“Really?” Ruby sniffled. She removed one arm from Sapphire’s waist to wipe her eyes.

“Yeah, I was just waiting for you to say sorry first. As a matter of pride.” Giggling, Sapphire wiped a stray tear out of the corner of Ruby’s eye and kissed her on the cheek. “Chill,” she said again.

“Awwwww,” Steven and Connie squealed.

“Chill,” Sapphire said to them.

Steven leapt to his feet. “Are you going to form Garnet again?”

Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other for a few seconds, communicating nonverbally, then looked back at Steven. “Yeah,” said Ruby, grinning. She picked Sapphire up and spun her around. Their forms brightened and merged.

“Garnet!” Steven yelled in delight. He ran to hug her and she picked him up so he could fling his arms around her neck. The others formed a group hug around her.

Steven took Garnet’s face is in his hands. “Garnet,” he said solemnly. “Never scare me like that again.”

“I promise,” Garnet said, laying a kiss on the top of his head.

Garnet put Steven back down and he went back to his seat at the card table. “Do you want to play cards with us?”

Garnet sat. “Sure, deal me in.”


End file.
